Funding secured to provide additional homes in the borough 

Melton Borough Council has secured £360,000 of funding from the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) which will be used to provide an additional three homes in the borough. The homes will become part of the council’s housing stock.  

At the meeting of Cabinet, which was held on Wednesday 23 August, Councillors agreed to accept the funding and match the funding with money secured for affordable housing from housing developers through Section 106 agreements.  

The homes will eventually become part of the council's general needs housing stock, however, as a condition of the government grant funding, initially two of these new homes will be used to support families who have fled the war in Afghanistan, and will be available by the end of March 2024. They will be offered to those in the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (a requirement of the grant funding) and will be allocated through specific matching and lettings processes.  

The funding also enables the purchase of a third property which will support the council to meet local housing demand and to support households who are experiencing homelessness.  

Following the decision of Cabinet, Cllr Pip Allnatt, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Landlord Services said : 

“The need to support families displaced by the war in Afghanistan into settled accommodation is a matter for all councils and it is important that we assist where possible in providing settled accommodation and a place to call home within our communities, particularly for those households who have worked alongside the UK Government and risked their lives alongside our armed forces, or have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan.  

We are exploring a range of ways in which we can play our part, and this is one of the ways in which we can do so, whilst also increasing the availability of accommodation to support local housing and homelessness pressures. The funding available from the Local Authority Housing Fund means that we can make the money we have available to us go further, supporting households in need right now and also into the future”. 

The £250 million second round of LAHF supports the government’s humanitarian obligations to provide safe and suitable housing to those fleeing Afghanistan, alongside helping to deliver DLUHC’s commitment to help those who are homeless to secure accommodation. 

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For more information please contact: Communications@melton.gov.uk  

Notes to editors: 
 

The objectives of LAHF R2 are to: 

• Provide sustainable housing to those on Afghan resettlement schemes at risk of homelessness so that they can build new lives in the UK, find employment and integrate into communities. 
• Reduce local housing pressures beyond those on Afghan resettlement schemes by providing better quality temporary accommodation to those owed homelessness duties by local authorities. 

• Reduce emergency, temporary and bridging accommodation costs. 
• Reduce impact on the existing housing and homelessness systems and those waiting for social housing. 

More information on the LAHF2 scheme here: Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 2 prospectus and guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)